wounded men, he could see nothing of Serjt. Bunn and the garrison of the
trench, most of whom he soon realized must have been buried, where the
tip of the crater had engulfed what had been the front line. For about
80 yards no front line existed, nor had he sufficient men in the left of
his trench to bring across to help the right, so, sending down a report
of his condition, he started, with any orderlies and batmen he could
collect, to rescue those of his Company who had been only partially
buried. Meanwhile, help was coming from two quarters. On the right,
Colonel Martin, of the 4th Battalion, also disturbed at dinner, was soon
up in "49" trench, where he found that his left flank had also suffered
from the explosion, but not so badly. His first thought was to form some
continuous line of defence across the gap, if possible linking up with
the crater at the same time, and, with this object in view he personally
reconnoitred the ground and discovered a small disused trench running in
front of "49" towards the crater. Quickly organizing parties of men, he
sent them along this cut, first to continue it up to the crater, then
with sandbags for the defence of the "lip." He himself superintended the
work inside the crater, where he had a miraculous escape from a trench
mortar, which wounded all standing round him. At the same time, R.S.M.
Small, finding a dazed man of "B" Company wandering near Battalion
Headquarters, heard what had happened, and without waiting for further
orders sent off every available man he could find with shovels and
sandbags to assist Capt. Griffiths. Half an hour later, Capt. Bland also
arrived with two platoons of "C" Company, sent across from the left of
our line, and by dawn with their help a trench had been cut through from
"50" to "49." This, though not organized for defence, yet enabled one
to pass through the damaged area. At the same time the miners started to
make a small tunnel into the bottom of the crater, so that it would no
longer be necessary to climb over the lip to reach the bomb post which
was built inside.